Once again politics and budgie smugglers have divided a nation and provided days of rather unusual commentary.

The familiarity is comforting.

So it’s come to pass that Jack Walker, a Turnbull government adviser, was one of nine men arrested in Malaysia after a premeditated strip at the local Grand Prix.

Clad in undies depicting the Malaysian flag, they drank from the shoes of victory and, remarkably, offended the deeply conservative Muslim nation.